Guinness Chocolate Cake with Baileys Irish Cream Cheese Frosting

It’s the week of St. Patrick’s Day and you know what that means for me – chocolate paired with Guinness and frosting paired with Baileys Irish Cream! Before last year I was every kind of skeptical about throwing beer into my chocolate baked goods, and this is coming from someone who will choose a beer over a mixed drink any day of the week. My skepticism was squashed after making the utterly amazing Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, then I took it a notch further with Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream. Both blew my socks off, so when I saw a chocolate stout cake on King Arthur Flour, I wasted absolutely no time in getting to the kitchen. Luckily, I had some bottles of Guinness leftover from my Gingerbread Cake, so I didn’t even have to hit the liquor store before starting. Bonus! While the original recipe called for a chocolate frosting, I thought it would be way more festive to get Baileys into the mix, and settled on a Baileys cream cheese frosting.

This cake? Top 3, all-time. No question.

My mom has belonged to the same card club for about 25 years now – the group got together when I was in elementary school and they were all stay-at-home moms who volunteered at the school. They began having monthly Friday night “card clubs” where they would get together, play cards, eat, and gossip. No husbands or kids allowed. Twenty-five years later, they still get together once a month and have started taking a yearly vacation together. They take turns hosting the monthly get-togethers; a few weeks ago, it was my mom’s turn and she asked if I would mind making her a dessert. I said I’d love to and, with this cake jumping to mind immediately, asked if the ladies would mind a spiked dessert. She assured me they would love it, so with the green light, I was off.

The cake came together really easily and while it was cooling, I got started on the frosting. I was in a baking zone and hadn’t really looked outside over the previous few hours. As a result, I didn’t notice that it was becoming eerily similar to the scene from The Wizard of Oz right before Dorothy’s house gets picked up and spun around by a tornado. Oblivious to the situation outside, I started in on my boozy frosting. I put the cream cheese, butter, and Baileys into the mixing bowl and mixed in approximately two spoonfuls of powdered sugar when, poof! Mixer stopped. Radio stopped. Lights went out. I waited a few minutes to see if the power was going to come back, but no such luck. As it turned out, the wind knocked a tree down over power lines down the street. I pulled the mixing bowl off the mixer, grabbed a wooden spoon, and went to town.

This frosting experience made me appreciate all of the things that our grandmothers made years before stand mixers graced most kitchen counters. It also made me appreciate my KitchenAid mixer more than ever before. I wanted to kiss it when the power came back! While I’m unsure if it was the recipe itself or the fact that it was mixed with a wooden spoon, the frosting was just a bit on the soft side. Still, it was stiff enough to frost the cake and do some piping. Plus, it was to-die-for delicious. I will make it a thousand times over.

The verdict from the card club ladies? My mom said they went absolutely crazy over it and couldn’t stop raving. Since they only polished off half of the cake, I got to dig into the leftovers. I have to say this is by far one of the two best chocolate cakes I have ever made. The chocolate flavor is deep and rich, the cake is moist, and the frosting is a perfect complement. I ate it for days, and I am already looking forward to making it again. And again. And again.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment paper circles.

2. Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, and heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

3. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix together at slow speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.

5. Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. Bake the layers for 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.

6. Make the Frosting: In a mixing bowl, blend together the cream cheese, butter, and Baileys Irish Cream on medium speed until completely smooth and combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar on medium-low speed until it has all been added. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is smooth and thoroughly mixed. Use immediately. You can refrigerate the frosting, but it will need to be brought to room temperature before using. This yields enough frosting to fill the cake and frost the outside, and do some basic decorations.

*Note: If the finished frosting is a little soft for your liking, you can add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.

I used to live in a very power outage prone apartment building, so I feel your pain with the mixer – that happened to me once several years ago. One time the power actually went out as I was mid-way through flat-ironing my hair, which might have been even more inconvenient!

Michelle, You are amazing. I will have to try this cake. Do you have a good recipe for a chocolate mousse cake. The local bakery makes one that is incredibly rich but light at the same time. (You might be tempted for seconds) I would appreciate it if you keep your eyes open for a good recipe. You have the knack for hunting down the best of the best. I always comes to your blog first!

Hi Lori, I haven’t nailed down chocolate mousse cake yet, but it’s definitely on my to-do list. If you have a link to the bakery site with a description of the cake you like, feel free to send it my way!

i was skeptical too, especially using nasty guiness, BUT, O to the M to the G…it was amazing, no beer taste, gave the chocolate a little zip, and it’s now officially NUMERO UNO in my chocolate cake slot. TRY it, you will not be disappointed.

Is there anything that makes it much different from the car bomb cupcakes? The only thing I can tell is the baking soda versus powder and this cake has cream cheese frosting where the cupcakes did not. If this is the best, can it be modified for cupcakes? Thanks!

Hi Nicole, Yes! This cake doesn’t include any whiskey. A traditional car bomb includes shots of Jameson whiskey and Baileys, dropped into a pint of Guinness. You could always make the whiskey ganache from the car bomb cupcakes and spread it onto the cake before the Baileys filling in the middle to make a car bomb cake if you’d like If you want cupcakes, though, I would still make the original car bomb cupcake recipe.

I was waiting for you to say that you took the bowl and spoon and hid in a closet while continuing to mix lol. Sounds fantastic and I love that your mom and the other ladies are still friends after all these years!

Hi Rachelanne, The cupcakes include the whiskey ganache, which this cake does not. However, if you want cupcakes, I would stick with the ICB recipe. I haven’t tested this cake for cupcakes, and I think the frosting recipe for the ICB cupcakes is better suited for cupcakes (sits up easily when piped). I hope that helps!

I just drooled all over my keyboard!! Seriously. I now have a dilemma on my hands… ICB cupcakes or this cake for St. Patty’s day???? I was 100% sold on the cupcakes – until this beauty flashed across my screen this morning! I wish I was having a crowd so I would have an excuse to make both… I’ll figure SOMETHING out ;0) Thank you for your genius recipes and your posts that make me laugh out loud! My 4 year old stares at me from across her breakfast wondering why I am laughing at the computer and when I show her the page she says “Oh Mommy…. we HAVE to make that one!” She is probably one of your youngest fans :0)

Hi Michelle I was wondering if the alcohol bakes out in the cake, I would love to make this for my grandmothers birthday. We have alot of kids in the family and I am sure they would try to sneak a bite.

Hi Kristina, The alcohol does probably bake out of the cake itself, but definitely not out of the frosting. You could sub a regular cream cheese frosting, or use a suggestion from a reader on the BEB Facebook page – there is a non-alcoholic coffee creamer that is flavored like Baileys. You could try that in the frosting too!

2- I have a wonderful chocolate mousse recipe that turns out each time I make it, and I usually have to make twice as much simply because I eat most of it as I’m making it. Let me know if you would like it, and I’ll share it with you.

Thanks for always making desserts and entree’s that I actually WANT to try and that actually turn out when made.

Michelle, I will look through my baking portfolio after work tomorrow and get that posted for you. I will say this- stock up on some of your favorite dark chocolate pieces/chips/discs/peves, etc. This mousse changes each time you use a different brand of chocolate. My favorites so far are the semi sweet and bittersweet chocolate wafers by E. Guittard. I also use gelatin in my mousse. I prefer it this way, it makes it hold its shape better, and I can use it in layered chocolate desserts.

Directions:
1- Soften gelatin in cold water
2- Whip the LAST AMOUNT (300g) of heavy cream to a medium peak and reserve in the fridge
3- In a sauce pan, bring the milk, the 1st amount of cream and the 1st amount of sugar to a scald
4- When the milk mixture is hot, whisk together the yolks and the 2nd amount of sugar
5- Temper the yolk mixture with the scalded milk
6- Return to the sauce pan and using a spoon, slowly cook to 185 degrees F, or until it coats the back of a spoon. Careful not to go over 185 degrees or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs, which I’m sure you know. 😉
7- Remove from the stove and add chocolate
8- Add the softened gelatin and stir
9- Using a whisk, mix until all the chocolate and gelatin are incorporated
10- Cool in an ice back until the chocolate Creme Anglaise base starts to thicken
11- Fold the reserved whipped cream into the cooled chocolate Creme Anglaise base and try not to eat it all.

This mousse works great as layers in between rich chocolate cake with a ganache “frosting”, or just as a simple dessert garnished with chocolate shavings and raspberries, or as a fruit dip for strawberries, or like I mentioned above…for those moments when dignity doesn’t matter and you just want to be alone with pastry bag…or skip that and just grab a spoon.

You are welcome- there is also a chocolate butter sponge cake recipe that can go with this mouse to make a 5 layer chocolate mousse cake covered in ganache. I could share that recipe too. Just let me know.

I love st. patty’s day! thanks so much for posting all these wonderful holiday treats! trying the irish soda bread recipe tonight for work tomorrow, then a few others for a get together on st. pattys day night! thanks again!

I am not much of a beer drinker but I have long appreciated what it can do to elevate foods when used in cooking them. I recently was invited to a beer tasting at a local Irish pub and I’ve gained a new appreciation for Guinness in the glass and used it recently when preparing some shepherd’s pie too so know how it elevates the flavor profile of foods without making them taste like beer. I’ll bet this is divine! My favorite Irish dessert is a cake made with Irish Whiskey and coffee but you might have convinced me to try something new!

I love that you made this for your Mom’s group! My oldest sister has been getting together once a month with a group of her friends for 25 years now and I think it is wonderful how they all make the time and never miss a luncheon.
This cake looks wonderful, it really does and while the frosting may have been a bit soft, I can only imagine how delicious it was. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I may just make some cupcakes with it

Michelle, I used almost exactly the same wording as you did when I posted my almost identical recipe (your ingredients are 50% more except for the sour cream) with regard to this cake being in the top 3 of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made. I used a chocolate ganache to top mine–I’m saving the Bailey’s icing for your Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes! http://www.fransfavs.com/2012/03/chocolate-stout-cake/